'Operation Tranquility' formed to stop Wilmington shootings

Published: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 7:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at 7:29 p.m.

After a month of soaring gun violence and gang bloodshed, the Wilmington Police Department announced on Wednesday the formation of a multi-agency task force charged with cracking down on the perpetrators of shootings and restoring peace to afflicted neighborhoods.

Police officials said the task force, dubbed "Operation Tranquility," marks the second phase of a planned three-part process to arrest those culpable for the spate of gun crimes that caused two deaths in recent weeks and prompted city ministries to take the unusual step of calling for a 90-day cease fire between rival gangs.

Capt. Jim Varrone, who commands police units in the city's northwest district, where much of the recent gun violence has occurred, is leading the task force. It consists of local police officers as well as members plucked from the FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and N.C. Probation and Parole. The New Hanover County District Attorney's Office also assigned a prosecutor to the team.

"Our focus is to eradicate and reduce this gun and gang violence that's been plaguing some of our neighborhoods, especially our public housing residents," Varrone said by telephone, adding that the department had reached out to the Wilmington Housing Authority. "We're going after the key players that are wreaking havoc in these neighborhoods, and we have a lot of good leads and we're using many resources."

Shootings have been on the rise this year, jumping 48 percent over the first six months of 2011. The numbers grew precipitously in June, leading the police department to enlist off-duty officers to help pump up patrols and increase officer visibility.

The patrols were the first phase of what Police Chief Ralph Evangelous said last week would be a multi-part process. The second phase is the task force.

The third phase, Varrone said, is an assessment that will be conducted after 30 days to evaluate whether the team arrested the key players and brought sustained order to violence-stung communities. A decision will be made then to either continue or disband the task force.

"We are prepared to keep it going until we have things under control," Varrone said.

The task force, whose first meeting was scheduled Wednesday night, will spend forthcoming weeks building cases related to the city's most recent homicides and shootings.

Evangelous declared in a statement that "The citizens of Wilmington have a right to enjoy peace, quiet and safety in their homes. Our goal is to help them return to some form of normalcy."

Varrone attributed the problem to gangs fighting over territory and narcotics. He said police had identified "most of them," with many being young adults between the ages of 17 and 28.

"These are not random acts," Varrone said. "People are not being selected randomly to be assaulted. We just have to connect the dots to make our cases, and we need to know what's going on here."

<p>After a month of soaring gun violence and gang bloodshed, the Wilmington Police Department announced on Wednesday the formation of a multi-agency task force charged with cracking down on the perpetrators of shootings and restoring peace to afflicted neighborhoods. </p><p>Police officials said the task force, dubbed "Operation Tranquility," marks the second phase of a planned three-part process to arrest those culpable for the spate of gun crimes that caused two deaths in recent weeks and prompted city ministries to take the unusual step of calling for a 90-day cease fire between rival gangs. </p><p>Capt. Jim Varrone, who commands police units in the city's northwest district, where much of the recent gun violence has occurred, is leading the task force. It consists of local police officers as well as members plucked from the FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and N.C. Probation and Parole. The New Hanover County District Attorney's Office also assigned a prosecutor to the team. </p><p>"Our focus is to eradicate and reduce this gun and gang violence that's been plaguing some of our neighborhoods, especially our public housing residents," Varrone said by telephone, adding that the department had reached out to the <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic31"><b>Wilmington Housing Authority</b></a>. "We're going after the key players that are wreaking havoc in these neighborhoods, and we have a lot of good leads and we're using many resources."</p><p>Shootings have been on the rise this year, jumping 48 percent over the first six months of 2011. The numbers grew precipitously in June, leading the police department to enlist off-duty officers to help pump up patrols and increase officer visibility. </p><p>The patrols were the first phase of what Police Chief <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9935"><b>Ralph Evangelous</b></a> said last week would be a multi-part process. The second phase is the task force. </p><p>The third phase, Varrone said, is an assessment that will be conducted after 30 days to evaluate whether the team arrested the key players and brought sustained order to violence-stung communities. A decision will be made then to either continue or disband the task force. </p><p>"We are prepared to keep it going until we have things under control," Varrone said. </p><p>The task force, whose first meeting was scheduled Wednesday night, will spend forthcoming weeks building cases related to the city's most recent homicides and shootings. </p><p>Evangelous declared in a statement that "The citizens of Wilmington have a right to enjoy peace, quiet and safety in their homes. Our goal is to help them return to some form of normalcy." </p><p>Varrone attributed the problem to gangs fighting over territory and narcotics. He said police had identified "most of them," with many being young adults between the ages of 17 and 28. </p><p>"These are not random acts," Varrone said. "People are not being selected randomly to be assaulted. We just have to connect the dots to make our cases, and we need to know what's going on here." </p><p>He added: "We're taking this seriously." </p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9904"><b>Brian Freskos</b></a>: 343-2327</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @BrianFreskos</p>